FIONA MCCALLUM is a celebrated Australian author who was raised on a cereal and wool farm in South Australia and who currently resides in Adelaide.

Her Time to Shine is Fiona’s latest book and is a tender story about finding strength and fulfilment after major upheaval.

Why did you set your novel in the small country town of Melrose?

After a traumatic time, my character Erica, a city person through and through, needed a fresh start somewhere different and peaceful where she’d be welcomed by warm and friendly people. Having spent the first half of my life in a close-knit rural area and knowing how supportive country people can be to newcomers, it made sense to send Erica somewhere like where I grew up.

But I also needed the place to have a name that my addled character could momentarily confuse with another location closer to her home.

And, geographically, I needed the location to be far enough away from Adelaide that it meant a challenging decision for her to make.

(I also have a personal connection to Melrose, with many relatives in the area.)

This is the second book in the ‘Trick of the Light’ series – what can readers expect to see this time from Erica’s character development?

In Trick of the Light, we saw Erica struggling with some heart-breaking and difficult life challenges and ultimately seeing the glimmer of a hopeful future to look forward to. In Her Time to Shine, we see Erica not just surviving, but really beginning to thrive again.

(While a richer reading experience will be had by reading both books in order, each stands alone.)

In what ways have your own personal experiences informed the scenes or characters in your novels?

Lots of ways – I’m usually drawing on specific episodes or emotional turmoil from my own life for my writing. I’ve experienced a lot during my 51 and a half years, so there’s plenty to mine from!

In Her Time to Shine I particularly wanted to pay private homage to how far I’ve come, despite everything, and celebrate the many wonderful, seemingly serendipitous, moments that have occurred along the way to put me here. (I say “seemingly serendipitous” because I don’t believe in coincidence. It’s been my experience that everything is connected in one way or another and happens at the right time and in the right order.)

Erica works at a funeral home – what kind of research did you do to capture this role?

I was fortunate to connect with a wonderfully generous rural-based funeral director who was very patient with answering my many questions.

Also, unfortunately for me but fortunately for my writing, I’ve had too many experiences of losing loved ones and being involved with funeral arrangements.

Incidentally, my first job out of school was working in the local council office, which included plenty of liaising with funeral directors to organise burials.

I wanted to write about the industry because I think funeral directors are incredible people who don’t get nearly enough recognition or appreciation in the wider community for helping us through some of the toughest times in our lives. I’ve always found their calm, professional manner and orderly approach enormously reassuring during an otherwise harrowing event.

What do you hope readers will take away from your exploration of trauma?

Trauma impacts each of us differently and the effects can, and do, last a lifetime. For those of us who’ve been conditioned to keep our problems private and had our experiences dismissed or diminished, life after traumatic events can often be a confusing and lonely place.

I hope readers struggling with their own difficult and traumatic circumstances will feel a sense of solidarity and find some renewed optimism for their own futures.

Her Time to Shine is your 14th novel – where do you draw inspiration from?

Everywhere and anywhere! I’m insatiably curious about pretty much everything and have endless ideas floating around inside me. Whole stories can arise from snippets of overheard conversations or a fleeting emotional encounter or a memory. Creativity is quite magical and I’ve learnt to appreciate it and not question it too much. The way a tiny seed of an idea can end up as a complete story is mind-blowing!

Which writers or books do you greatly admire?

I read widely and voraciously across many genres and appreciate lots of authors. However, three authors who I have a constant and unwavering fondness for are:

Enid Blyton, for being the first author to truly entertain and transport me from reality via the written word

Franz Kafka, whose work taught me the power of description to emotionally connect a reader to a character and/or story

Maeve Binchy, to whom I will be forever grateful for showing me that my particular style of writing might have a place, and reigniting my dream to be a published novelist at a time when I’d completely given up writing fiction thanks to a demoralising stint at university where popular/commercial fiction was disparaged.

Are you currently working on any other projects?

Oh yes, I’m always working on something! I’m currently editing a new novel – due for release similar time next year.